2006 Major League Baseball season

The 2006 Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular-season victory total (83) in a fully-played season in major league history. The Atlanta Braves failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1990 (1994 there was no postseason due to the players strike). Individual achievements included Barry Bonds who, despite questions surrounding his alleged steroid use and involvement in the BALCO scandal, surpassed Babe Ruth for second place on the career home runs list. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game, and ninth of the prior 10 contests (the 2002 game was a tie).

2006 MLB season
LeagueMajor League Baseball
SportBaseball
DurationApril 2 – October 27, 2006
Number of games162
Number of teams30
TV partner(s)Fox, ESPN
Draft
Top draft pickLuke Hochevar
Picked byKansas City Royals
Regular Season
Season MVPAL: Justin Morneau (MIN)
NL: Ryan Howard (PHI)
Postseason
AL championsDetroit Tigers
  AL runners-upOakland Athletics
NL championsSt. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-upNew York Mets
World Series
ChampionsSt. Louis Cardinals
  Runners-upDetroit Tigers
World Series MVPDavid Eckstein (STL)
MLB seasons

Standings

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American League

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AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(1) New York Yankees 97 65 .599 50‍–‍31 47‍–‍34
Toronto Blue Jays 87 75 .537 10 50‍–‍31 37‍–‍44
Boston Red Sox 86 76 .531 11 48‍–‍33 38‍–‍43
Baltimore Orioles 70 92 .432 27 40‍–‍41 30‍–‍51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 61 101 .377 36 41‍–‍40 20‍–‍61
AL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(2) Minnesota Twins 96 66 .593 54‍–‍27 42‍–‍39
(4) Detroit Tigers 95 67 .586 1 46‍–‍35 49‍–‍32
Chicago White Sox 90 72 .556 6 49‍–‍32 41‍–‍40
Cleveland Indians 78 84 .481 18 44‍–‍37 34‍–‍47
Kansas City Royals 62 100 .383 34 34‍–‍47 28‍–‍53
AL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(3) Oakland Athletics 93 69 .574 49‍–‍32 44‍–‍37
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 89 73 .549 4 45‍–‍36 44‍–‍37
Texas Rangers 80 82 .494 13 39‍–‍42 41‍–‍40
Seattle Mariners 78 84 .481 15 44‍–‍37 34‍–‍47

National League

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NL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(1) New York Mets 97 65 .599 50‍–‍31 47‍–‍34
Philadelphia Phillies 85 77 .525 12 41‍–‍40 44‍–‍37
Atlanta Braves 79 83 .488 18 40‍–‍41 39‍–‍42
Florida Marlins 78 84 .481 19 42‍–‍39 36‍–‍45
Washington Nationals 71 91 .438 26 41‍–‍40 30‍–‍51
NL Central
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(3) St. Louis Cardinals 83 78 .516 49‍–‍31 34‍–‍47
Houston Astros 82 80 .506 44‍–‍37 38‍–‍43
Cincinnati Reds 80 82 .494 42‍–‍39 38‍–‍43
Milwaukee Brewers 75 87 .463 48‍–‍33 27‍–‍54
Pittsburgh Pirates 67 95 .414 16½ 43‍–‍38 24‍–‍57
Chicago Cubs 66 96 .407 17½ 36‍–‍45 30‍–‍51
NL West
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
(2) San Diego Padres 88 74 .543 43‍–‍38 45‍–‍36
(4) Los Angeles Dodgers 88 74 .543 49‍–‍32 39‍–‍42
San Francisco Giants 76 85 .472 11½ 43‍–‍38 33‍–‍47
Arizona Diamondbacks 76 86 .469 12 39‍–‍42 37‍–‍44
Colorado Rockies 76 86 .469 12 44‍–‍37 32‍–‍49

Postseason

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Players of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate their World Series victory.


Bracket

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Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS)
League Championship Series
(NLCS, ALCS)
World Series
         
1 NY Yankees 1
4 Detroit 3
4 Detroit 4
American League
3 Oakland 0
2 Minnesota 0
3 Oakland 3
AL4 Detroit 1
NL3 St. Louis 4
1 NY Mets 3
4 LA Dodgers 0
1 NY Mets 3
National League
3 St. Louis 4
2 San Diego 1
3 St. Louis 3

All-Star game

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Awards

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Players of the Minnesota Twins celebrate Justin Morneau's Walk-off home run in victory against the Baltimore Orioles, June 11.
Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Rookie of the Year Hanley Ramírez (FLA) Justin Verlander (DET)
Cy Young Award Brandon Webb (AZ) Johan Santana (MIN)
Manager of the Year Joe Girardi (FLA) Jim Leyland (DET)
Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard (PHI) Justin Morneau (MIN)
Gold Glove Awards
Position National League American League
Pitcher Greg Maddux (CHC/LAD) Kenny Rogers (DET)
Catcher Brad Ausmus (HOU) Iván Rodríguez (DET)
1st Base Albert Pujols (STL) Mark Teixeira (TEX)
2nd Base Orlando Hudson (AZ) Mark Grudzielanek (KC)
3rd Base Scott Rolen (STL) Eric Chavez (OAK)
Shortstop Omar Vizquel (SF) Derek Jeter (NYY)
Outfield Carlos Beltrán (NYM)
Mike Cameron (SD)
Andruw Jones (ATL)
Torii Hunter (MIN)
Ichiro Suzuki (SEA)
Vernon Wells (TOR)
Silver Slugger Awards
Position National League American League
Pitcher/Designated Hitter Carlos Zambrano (CHC) David Ortiz (BOS)
Catcher Brian McCann (ATL) Joe Mauer (MIN)
1st Base Ryan Howard (PHI) Justin Morneau (MIN)
2nd Base Chase Utley (PHI) Robinson Canó (NYY)
3rd Base Miguel Cabrera (FLA) Joe Crede (CWS)
Shortstop José Reyes (NYM) Derek Jeter (NYY)
Outfield Carlos Beltrán (NYM)
Matt Holliday (COL)
Alfonso Soriano (WSH)
Jermaine Dye (CWS)
Vladimir Guerrero (LAA)
Manny Ramirez (BOS)

Other awards

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Player of the Month

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Month American League National League
April Jason Giambi Albert Pujols
May Alex Rodriguez Jason Bay
June Joe Mauer David Wright
July David Ortiz Chase Utley
August Travis Hafner Ryan Howard
September Robinson Canó Ryan Howard

Pitcher of the Month

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Month American League National League
April José Contreras Greg Maddux
May CC Sabathia Jason Schmidt
June Johan Santana Chris Young
July John Lackey Carlos Zambrano
August Esteban Loaiza Derek Lowe
September Johan Santana Roy Oswalt

Rookie of the Month

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Month American League National League
April Jonathan Papelbon Prince Fielder
May Justin Verlander Josh Johnson
June Francisco Liriano Josh Johnson
Dan Uggla
July Francisco Liriano Josh Barfield
August Nick Markakis Chris Duncan
September Boof Bonser Aníbal Sánchez

Statistical leaders

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Statistic American League National League
AVG Joe Mauer, MIN .347 Freddy Sanchez, PIT .344
HR David Ortiz, BOS 54 Ryan Howard, PHI 58
RBI David Ortiz, BOS 137 Ryan Howard, PHI 149
Wins Johan Santana, MIN
Chien-Ming Wang, NYY
19 Aaron Harang, CIN
Derek Lowe, LAD
Brad Penny, LAD
John Smoltz, ATL
Brandon Webb, AZ
Carlos Zambrano, CHC
16
ERA Johan Santana, MIN 2.77 Roy Oswalt, HOU 2.98
SO Johan Santana, MIN 245 Aaron Harang, CIN 216
SV Francisco Rodríguez, LAA 47 Trevor Hoffman, SD 46
SB Carl Crawford, TB 58 José Reyes, NYM 64

Managers

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American League

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Team Manager Comments
Baltimore Orioles Sam Perlozzo
Boston Red Sox Terry Francona
Chicago White Sox Ozzie Guillén
Cleveland Indians Eric Wedge
Detroit Tigers Jim Leyland Won the ALCS, replacing Alan Trammell
Kansas City Royals Buddy Bell
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Mike Scioscia
Minnesota Twins Ron Gardenhire
New York Yankees Joe Torre
Oakland Athletics Ken Macha (Macha was replaced by Bob Geren)
Seattle Mariners Mike Hargrove
Tampa Bay Devil Rays Joe Maddon
Texas Rangers Buck Showalter (Showalter was replaced with Ron Washington)
Toronto Blue Jays John Gibbons

National League

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Team Manager Comments
Arizona Diamondbacks Bob Melvin
Atlanta Braves Bobby Cox
Chicago Cubs Dusty Baker (Baker was replaced by Lou Piniella)
Cincinnati Reds Jerry Narron
Colorado Rockies Clint Hurdle
Florida Marlins Joe Girardi (Girardi was replaced by Fredi González)
Houston Astros Phil Garner
Los Angeles Dodgers Grady Little
Milwaukee Brewers Ned Yost
New York Mets Willie Randolph
Philadelphia Phillies Charlie Manuel
Pittsburgh Pirates± Jim Tracy
St. Louis Cardinals Tony La Russa Won the World Series
San Diego Padres Bruce Bochy (Bochy was replaced by Bud Black)
San Francisco Giants Felipe Alou (Alou was replaced by Bruce Bochy)
Washington Nationals Frank Robinson (Robinson was replaced by Manny Acta)

±hosted the MLB All Star Game

Milestones

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300–300 Club members

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Home Runs

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The following players reached major home run milestones in 2006:

Barry Bonds' countdown to 715

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  • May 21 — reached 714 career homers, tying Babe Ruth for second all time
  • May 28 — reached 715 career homers, passing Ruth for second all time

400 career homers

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300 career homers

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200 career homers

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Entry into the top 500

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Pitching

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Hitting

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Other achievements

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  • Matt Holliday hit the longest home run of the season in MLB against the San Francisco Giants on September 19 with an official distance of 443 feet (135 m); HitTracker estimated it at 496 feet (151 m).[1]

Home field attendance and payroll

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Team name Wins Home attendance Per game Est. payroll
New York Yankees[2] 97 2.1% 4,248,067 3.8% 52,445 $194,663,079 -6.5%
Los Angeles Dodgers[3] 88 23.9% 3,758,545 4.3% 46,402 $98,447,187 18.6%
St. Louis Cardinals[4] 83 -17.0% 3,407,104 -3.7% 42,589 $88,891,371 -3.5%
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim[5] 89 -6.3% 3,406,790 0.1% 42,059 $103,472,000 9.1%
New York Mets[6] 97 16.9% 3,379,535 19.4% 41,723 $101,584,963 0.3%
San Francisco Giants[7] 76 1.3% 3,130,313 -1.6% 38,646 $90,056,419 -0.2%
Chicago Cubs[8] 66 -16.5% 3,123,215 0.7% 38,558 $94,424,499 8.5%
Houston Astros[9] 82 -7.9% 3,022,763 7.8% 37,318 $100,894,435 31.4%
Chicago White Sox[10] 90 -9.1% 2,957,414 26.2% 36,511 $102,750,667 36.7%
Boston Red Sox[11] 86 -9.5% 2,930,588 2.9% 36,180 $120,099,824 -2.8%
Philadelphia Phillies[12] 85 -3.4% 2,701,815 1.4% 33,356 $88,273,333 -7.6%
San Diego Padres[13] 88 7.3% 2,659,757 -7.3% 32,837 $69,896,141 10.4%
Detroit Tigers[14] 95 33.8% 2,595,937 28.2% 32,049 $82,612,866 19.6%
Atlanta Braves[15] 79 -12.2% 2,550,524 1.2% 31,488 $90,156,876 4.3%
Seattle Mariners[16] 78 13.0% 2,481,165 -9.0% 30,632 $87,959,833 0.2%
Texas Rangers[17] 80 1.3% 2,388,757 -5.4% 29,491 $68,228,662 22.2%
Milwaukee Brewers[18] 75 -7.4% 2,335,643 5.6% 28,835 $57,970,333 45.2%
Toronto Blue Jays[19] 87 8.8% 2,302,212 14.3% 28,422 $71,365,000 56.1%
Minnesota Twins[20] 96 15.7% 2,285,018 12.3% 28,210 $63,396,006 12.8%
Baltimore Orioles[21] 70 -5.4% 2,153,139 -18.0% 26,582 $72,585,582 -1.8%
Washington Nationals[22] 71 -12.3% 2,153,056 -21.2% 26,581 $63,143,000 30.0%
Cincinnati Reds[23] 80 9.6% 2,134,607 9.9% 26,353 $60,909,519 -1.6%
Colorado Rockies[24] 76 13.4% 2,104,362 9.9% 25,980 $41,233,000 -13.8%
Arizona Diamondbacks[25] 76 -1.3% 2,091,685 1.6% 25,823 $59,984,226 -4.2%
Cleveland Indians[26] 78 -16.1% 1,997,995 -0.8% 24,667 $56,031,500 35.0%
Oakland Athletics[27] 93 5.7% 1,976,625 -6.3% 24,403 $64,843,079 17.0%
Pittsburgh Pirates[28] 67 0.0% 1,861,549 2.4% 22,982 $46,717,750 22.5%
Kansas City Royals[29] 62 10.7% 1,372,638 0.1% 16,946 $47,694,000 29.3%
Tampa Bay Devil Rays[30] 61 -9.0% 1,368,950 19.9% 16,901 $34,917,967 17.7%
Florida Marlins[31] 78 -6.0% 1,164,134 -37.2% 14,372 $14,671,500 -75.7%

Television coverage

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This was the sixth and final season that national television coverage was split between ESPN and Fox Sports (TBS would then be added to televising national coverage in 2007). ESPN and ESPN2 aired selected weeknight and Sunday night games, and selected Division Series playoff games. Fox televised Saturday baseball, the All-Star Game, selected Division Series games, both League Championship Series, and the World Series.

Events

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Beinhoff, Drew (September 20, 2006). "You gotta love Matt Holliday". Real Clear Sports. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  2. ^ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Los Angeles Angels Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "New York Mets Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ^ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "San Diego Padres Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "Seattle Mariners Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "Texas Rangers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ^ "Toronto Blue Jays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  20. ^ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  21. ^ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  22. ^ "Washington Nationals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "Colorado Rockies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ^ "Arizona Diamondbacks Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ^ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ^ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ^ "Kansas City Royals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ^ "Tampa Bay Rays Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  31. ^ "Florida Marlins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  32. ^ "Charlton's Baseball Chronology". www.baseballlibrary.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
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